Houston County commissioners order environmental review of proposed Olsen sand mine after citizen petition

At its meeting, the Houston County Board of Commissioners voted to prepare an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the proposed Olsen sand mine in Yucatan Township after county staff recommended a positive declaration following a citizen petition.

County staff member Amelia told commissioners the county received a qualifying petition forwarded by the EQB and that the petition presented evidence the project could cause environmental impacts. "An EAW does stop all kind of motion on any active applications," Amelia said, noting that conditional-use and variance applications for the site cannot move forward while an EAW is completed.

The petitioners’ representative, Jackie Baker, said the group "collected 332 signatures in just a short amount of time" and urged the board to order the assessment. Baker described the site as located along Minnesota's historic scenic byway, within or adjacent to the Richard J. Doerr Memorial State Hardwood State Forest, and in close proximity to the Ferndale Creek trout stream and the Root River shoreline.

Other residents and speakers cited ecological and cultural concerns. Steve Hartwick pointed to involvement by the Mississippi Valley Archaeological Center and the Minnesota DNR Natural Heritage Information System, saying state-listed and threatened species are recorded in the area. Rebecca Christensen and Cindy Cresswell Hatley told commissioners they had found wildlife and plant communities on nearby property and said an EAW would provide the community with needed information.

Commissioners discussed technical points raised in the petition and in correspondence from the applicant’s representatives, including whether the proposal would be a construction-use sand source for local projects or an industrial frac-sand operation. Amelia said the application was not proposed as an industrial frac-sand mine and that industrial operations—"they run 24/7"—would require a separate permitting pathway.

Commissioners also discussed ordinance setbacks and local geology. Staff noted a 1,000-foot setback requirement for certain quarry operations and said the site’s karst topography raises potential for groundwater connections; Amelia cited dye tracing and sinkhole concerns around Daly Creek and Ferndale Creek. Donna Buckby later clarified that Daly Creek is in Chisholm Valley, which she said places the creek closer to the proposed mine.

Commissioner (speaker 7) moved to proceed with preparation of an EAW; Commissioner (speaker 10) seconded the motion. The board conducted a roll-call vote and the motion passed on a 5-0 vote.

What happens next: the county will proceed with the EAW process, which will include gathering environmental information and expert input and will pause work on related conditional-use and variance permits until the EAW is complete. The EAW will inform future permitting decisions and identify potential mitigation measures or additional study needs.